Washington cradles regional wrestling title

Saturday

Feb 8, 2014 at 8:06 PM

Stan Morrisof the Journal Star

EAST PEORIA — Fueled by a misfire last year, Washington wrestled the regional title back from its Mid-Illini Conference rival.

The sixth-ranked Panthers put 10 in the finals Saturday, won six individual titles and captured the Class 2A East Peoria Regional crown. Washington amassed 219.5 points in winning its fourth title in five years, topping defending champ No. 7 East Peoria by 23.5 points.

“We were really motivated to come in here, after last year,” said Washington senior Colin Carr, the state’s top-ranked wrestler at 182 pounds. “We had to get that regional. We have a great team and we have a team that can do great things in the postseason, team state.”

Washington advanced to the LaSalle-Peru Dual Team Sectional on Feb. 25.

East Peoria earned four titles and advanced 10 to the sectional. Third-place Metamora moved on six, with Central next best at four.

When the Panthers won Saturday, they won big.

Carr (39-1) defended his 182-pound title with a pin in 1:53 against EP’s Evan Betz. Randy Meneweather defended his 152-pound crown with a 16-4 major decison over EP’s Drew Foster.

The Panthers also received a 19-4 tech fall from freshman Jacob Warner at 160 (vs. EP’s Tony Hall) and a 12-6 decision from Jake Godinez at 220 (vs. Richwoods’s Billie Smith).

“We’ve seen a lot of big improvement from our guys,” Washington coach Bryan Medlin said. “I still feel this wasn’t our best tournament. We had some guys have great matches, but I feel like we’re starting to peak at the right time.”

“As far as the better team, (Washington’s) not better than us,” EP coach Phil Johns said. “We just gave it to them by not having a weight class that was seeded second. We had some great, great matches ... There were a lot of good points but the kids worked hard and it’s a letdown to have somebody on the team let us down.”

EP senior Casey McWhirter won this third regional title by reversing a loss on Dec. 29 with a 3-0 decision over Washington’s Ryder Punke in the 132-pound finale.

“I was able to keep my pace high and keep pushing him without gassing as bad as I did (in the dual),” McWhirter said.

The Raiders also had championships from Jacob McCartney at 120, Bryce Sandoval at 145 and Clarence Gomez at 170.

AROUND THE MAT: Morton junior Gabe Pleasants scored a takedown with 14 seconds left to clip Metamora’s Kyle White in the 138-pound finale. Other champs were Central’s Ricky Stringfellow at 126, Limestone’s Cody Schooley at 195 and Notre Dame’s Dom Tudor at 285.

Stan Morris can be reached at 686-3214 o rsmorris@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @stanmorrispjs